


The Quality of Mercy

by Delphi



Category: The Old Guard (Comics)
Genre: Forgiveness, Gen, Haircuts, Missing Scene, Reunions, The Old Guard: Force Multiplied, Triple Drabble, background Joe/Nicky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28267173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delphi/pseuds/Delphi
Summary: A missing scene from Force Multiplied #5: Booker gets a haircut.
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Nicky | Nicolo di Genova
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	The Quality of Mercy

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2020 [Holiday Calendar](https://the-old-guard.dreamwidth.org/tag/%21holiday+calendar) on [The Old Guard Dreamwidth Community](https://the-old-guard.dreamwidth.org/).

Joe cuts his hair for him in the motel. Quick, quiet snips of the scissors. The insulating rush of water in the bathroom as Nicky goes third in the shower. Sébastien is clean and warm for the first time in days, wearing spares from the duffel bag that fit better than they should. Voices drift through the wall, a muffled mix of small talk and television news.

Is Noriko listening too? One of her goons? Fuck them. There's nothing to hear, not yet.

The water shuts off, and Nicky comes out and dresses. He searches for something on his phone, index finger a stylus, and closely studies the results.

"Pizza or Mexican?"

Sébastien's stomach cramps, remembering hunger.

" _Anything_ ," he says.

"I'll go see what Andy and Nile want."

"Make sure Copley's behaving himself," Joe says, tipping Sébastien's head forward to get at his neck.

Nicky's hand touches down on his shoulder on the way out, the warmth of it lingering long after his voice joins the hum next door. Joe's fingertips leave their own invisible marks as they run through his hair this way and that, the cool kiss of steel following.

Sébastien closes his eyes and shivers, wanting those blades to dig in. For Joe to grip hard, yank, shear him bloody to the scalp and shame him. But there's only the steady, practiced cuts and the slow flutter of locks onto the sheet spread out below. Attention paid to whether this side is the same as that one. Care taken around his ears.

When Joe sweeps the towel over him, he just so happens to get the tears on Sébastien’s cheeks before briskly brushing the stray hairs away. He inspects him closely, runs a hand over his work, then pats him on the arm.

"Good enough for now."


End file.
